Sighting devices are commonly used as accessories to archery bows to enable archers to more accurately aim bows in target shooting and in hunting. Some of the available archery sights, notably those used in competition target shooting events, are complex mechanisms which have relatively delicate components, such as the actual sighting elements. A sighting element commonly is supported on the handle riser of the bow via interconnecting members which are also components of the overall sight mechanism. The sight mechanism commonly is constructed so that the sighting element is positionally adjustable relative to the handle riser in each of three orthogonally related directions. Those directions can be referred to as the x (parallel to the direction of arrow flight which may be substantially horizontal), y (substantially horizontal and perpendicular to the x direction), and z (substantially vertical and perpendicular to both of the x and y directions) directions. The archer adjusts the position of the sighting element in the necessary combination of the x, y and z directions relative to the handle riser so that, when the archer places the sighting element on a line from his sighting eye to a target, the bow is properly aimed in terms of that archer's aiming stance, the range or distance to the target, and such windage factors as may be known or have been estimated, all in the context of that particular bow and the arrow being used. Once that adjustment of the sight mechanism has been made by the archer, it is desired that such adjustment remain fixed in the sight mechanism unless and until a change in that adjustment is needed to accommodate changes in shooting conditions, such as a change in range or windage factors. Maintenance of a desired sight mechanism adjustment state is a problem.
The problem exists because of the dynamic events which occur in a bow as it is released from a drawn condition in use of the bow. Irrespective of whether the bow is of the recurved kind or of the compound kind, the bow is stressed to some base level in its strung but undrawn state. In that state of the bow, the bowstring is taut and the bow limbs are modestly flexed. When the bow is fully drawn preparatory to release of an arrow, the bow limbs are more highly flexed and store energy which will be applied to the arrow via the bowstring to propel the arrow along its intended flight path. Upon release of the bow from its fully drawn state, the bow limbs and the bowstring move very rapidly and violently back to their strung but undrawn relation. They reach that relation in what is equivalent to a crash stop, which creates a sudden shock in the bow structure and in accessories mounted to the bow. Among other effects, that shock can cause the several elements of a bow sight to move relative to each other and, as a consequence, to cause the sight to lose its desired state of adjustment. It is not uncommon for repeated occurrences of such shocks to cause components of a bow sight to break. The most commonly broken sight component is the sight element itself and the member which directly supports the sight element. A loss of adjustment of a bow sight impairs the ability of the archer to accurately aim the bow. Breakage of a sight component has more obvious results.
It is seen, therefore, that a need exists for devices which can be used in and in combination with archery sight mechanisms to enhance the ability of a sight to maintain a desired state of adjustment during repeated use of a bow to which the sight is mounted, and to reduce or eliminate breakage of sight components due to the effects of applied shock loads. The need noted above is particularly acute in a new kind of archery competition and event--undefined distance shooting--in which the distances from the shooting line to the target are not stated to the archer and in which the targets are three-dimensional models of game animals. In such competition events, the archer uses very light arrows to obtain high initial arrow velocities so that flat arrow trajectories can be achieved. Because the arrows are light, they do not absorb as much energy from the bow as do heavier arrows. As a result, when light arrows are being used, the bows crash and slam and make much noise as they reach an undrawn state upon release from a drawn state. It is common in such competition for a sight element to break loose from its supports, at least once.